H.E. Jaques

This is both a field guide and a labor of love. It may be a little out of date with some of the classifications, as it was published in 1949 (and I have a soft spot for old books) - the main difference I noted was that fungi were still classed as plants during this time, which is no longer the case. But the individual details, including drawings, physical descriptions, and interesting facts about certain species, were done with such care that I really enjoyed the book. And that's considering that I only have a general biology background, had to look up many of the scientific terms, and could hardly pronounce some of the order and family names. (To those new to the field or looking for an easy read, I wouldn't recommend starting with books like this one. This is a high-level classification of plant/fungal families written by botanists, and perhaps isn't meant to be read cover to cover, but I never said I wasn't a geek.)

Originally, I picked up this book intending to do some basic plant research and pick up some fun facts for an eternally-unfinished novel. I received much more than I expected, however. The sheer diversity described in this little book alone was staggering, and the line drawings were really accurate as well, comparable to any color image I looked up. There's some solid information here on how to identify both well-known and unfamiliar plants, which is still applicable today. But mostly, I was reminded of how vital plants are to our biosphere, from the smallest unicellular species to the most massive trees, and how it's so easy to forget about these silent and sometimes invisible beings whose existence keeps us alive. I might be the furthest thing from a botanist, but this little book with its insanely big words gave me an appreciation for the field that I never thought I'd have.

In short, if you:
(1) love plants/fungi,
(2) understand highly specific botanical terms (or repeatedly use the glossary), and
(3) are interested in the backstory behind fun names like the touch-me-not, flower-of-an-hour, eastern wahoo, and the Phallus genus of fungi (latter may be self-explanatory)

- then this book is for you! Comes with occasional quips of dry humor, such as this sage warning from the fungi chapter: "If you are not sure of your identifications, you'd better be careful. Death is so permanent."

Glad I kept this one around for as long as I did.… (altro)